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Prison-like centre puts focus on UK’s response to migrants

Published:Saturday | November 5, 2022 | 6:37 PM
A view of people thought to be migrants inside the Manston immigration short-term holding facility located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, England, Thursday, November 3, 2022. Details about overcrowding and inhumane conditions at a migrant processing center in southeast England have shocked Britain and reignited a heated debate about how the Conservative government is handling a sharp increase in the number of asylum-seekers arriving on UK shores (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)

LONDON (AP) — Behind wire fences in southeast England, children wave their arms and chant “freedom” to grab the attention of people on the other side.

A young girl throws a bottle with a message inside.

“We need your help. Please help us,” the note reads.

The children are among thousands of people being held in dangerously overcrowded conditions at a closed airport serving as a processing centre for migrants who recently arrived on British shores after crossing the English Channel in small boats.

The situation there has reignited a heated debate about the Conservative United Kingdom government's treatment of asylum-seekers.

Located at the site of a former British air force base that had a short life as the civilian Manston Airport, the centre in Kent was designed as a short-term processing facility housing about 1,600 newcomers.

Up to 4,000 were staying there at one point this week, with some reportedly detained unlawfully for a month or more.

Independent government inspectors said they saw families sleeping on floors in prison-like conditions that presented fire and health hazards. The inspectors warned of the risk of outbreaks after cases of scabies, diphtheria and other conditions were reported.

Facing pressure over the situation, UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman defended the government's policies and described the increasing number of migrants arriving via the English Channel as “ an invasion on our southern coast.”

Her comment drew widespread condemnation.

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